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Thank you for your interest in GEM Adult Day Services on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We are a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing quality services to both participants and caregivers. GEM provides a positive and supportive environment for adults with memory loss, physical and mental disabilities and those in need of socialization.

GEM Mission – GEM Adult Day Services, Inc. is a non-profit locally-based program that is working throughout Dare & Currituck Counties to alter the impact of dementia. The organization’s goal is to change awareness, attitudes and behaviors with a primary emphasis on promoting best practices for training, education and care.

Exciting News for GEM! The Outer Banks Community Foundation has awarded a grant to GEM Adult Day Services, Inc. for Art at the Park a unique program developed by Gail Sonnesso, GEM Executive Director. Over the course of a year GEM will provide educational programs at our local parks and refuges. These programs will include a guided tour of the park, a craft related to the park, refreshments and live music. For more information, click HERE.

In this VIDEO, Home Instead expert, David Troxel, discusses how companionship and friendships are the best treatment for Dementia. For more information about Alzheimer’s and other dementias, click HERE.

On Friday June 6th in Elizabeth City over 200 people walked to end elder abuse. GEM’s Gail Sonnesso and Alethia Keaton from Albemarle Home Care and Hospice participated in the walk and shared information about their services. Families that receive on-going support are less likely to feel overwhelmed.

Unmet Needs of Community-Residing Persons with Dementia and Their Informal Caregivers: Findings from the Maximizing Independence at Home Study– a recent article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers from Johns Hopkins conducted in-home assessments and surveys of more than 250 people with dementia living at home in Baltimore. They also interviewed about 250 family members and friends who provided care for these individuals. To access this important article, please click HERE.

A Different Visit: Montessori-Based Activities for People with Alzheimer’s – This is an 8-minute presentation by Dr. Cameron Camp of the Center for Applied Research in Dementia created to help families and friends have purposeful and rewarding visits with loved ones who have memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia. The presentation centers on the use of Montessori-based activities, which are effective in engaging persons with memory loss. To view the video, click HERE.

Alzheimer’s Treatment: How Non-Drug Therapies Can Help, an article written by Mary S. Mittelman, Dr.P.H. and Laura N. Gitlin, Ph.D. that is in the Huffington Post (February 1, 2014) can be accessed HERE.

The HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act – The “Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act” (S.709/H.R. 1507) is one of the Alzheimer’s Association’s top federal priorities for the 113th Congress. To learn more, click HERE. To access the Hope for Alzheimer’s Act Fact Sheet, click HERE. To watch a video about the Hope for Alzheimer’s Act, click HERE.

For “A Bill of Rights for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias”,click HERE.

For more information on the Duke Alzheimer’s Family Support Program, click HERE.

For information on how to borrow materials from the Alzheimer’s Association’s virtual library, click HERE.

Click HERE to link to Alzheimer’s Support in Eastern North Carolina – NC / Alzheimer’s Association.

Click HERE for “I’m Still Here”, a forum on living with Alzheimer’s by author John Zeisel, Ph.D. Hearthstone’s I’m Still Here™ Approach is a comprehensive, non-pharmacologic, resident-driven method of working with persons living with cognitive impairments that provides a high level of meaningful engagement and can significantly reduce the common symptoms associated with dementia. This methodology has been researched for over 20 years and has been field tested extensively at Hearthstone’s six assisted living residences. Use of this approach has been shown to provide significant benefits such as decreasing falls by as much as 50% and antipsychotic drug use by as much as 75%, while creating a substantial increase in the quality of life for persons living with cognitive challenges. The Hearthstone Institute provides training and certification in the approach to organizations that care for persons experiencing all stages of memory loss, including SNFs, CCRCs, Homecare and Assisted Living providers. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about how to bring this approach to your community (wecare@thehearth.org).